Penumbra
by aiikou
Summary: It was a well-known fact that Akaashi Seijuro was the Generation of Miracle's captain, or so they assumed. What they didn't know, however, was that he simply acted as one. Nijimura, after all, left his position to be filled by their Phantom Sixth Man.


Television could either be a bane or a boon, sometimes, it's even considered to be both.

But for Kuroko Tetsuya, it was the latter.

Doe-eyed with an expression of childish wonder, the small child couldn't look away from the screen, watching as an orange ball was tossed around, passed from left to right, shot from different angles. He watched as it formed arcs from near and far, all landing inside the hoop with what he imagined a _swoosh_.

It was basketball.

For days he had sat in front of the television screen, looking forward to watching this one program, feeling excitement at the prospect of being on the same court one day.

If anyone were to ask him what he wanted to be, of what position he wanted to take if he were to ever pursue basketball, he had one answer.

That one player that makes the team a _team_ , the one that connects all those on court of the same side.

He admired the point guards, the centers, the power forwards, all those other main players. But he couldn't help but get mesmerized at how the ball gets passed around. If one were to really think about it, it's the one who passes that controls the game. Without anyone to steal the ball and pass it around to their team mates, no point would be gained.

He wanted to be that kind of player—the one who rules the court.

* * *

Ogiwara Shigehiro.

His first friend.

The light blue-haired male was playing —or attempting to play— basketball. Having no guide whatsoever and only trying to replicate the movements he saw on television, he wasn't really progressing. About a week ago, he managed to find a book all about sports, skipped to the basketball section and read moves and how to do them, but it proved to be of little use when he actually tried to do it in person. He couldn't even dribble properly. The ball was a lot heavier than he expected, having seen the players on tv handle it like it was nothing.

And that was how one of his neighbors, the one with chestnut-colored hair, found him—tripping over the ball and landing on his rear end.

At first the other male was confused when he saw the ball move by itself. And when he heard a soft groan, he, much like everybody else, screamed when he finally saw the source of the sound.

"Ghost!" He exclaimed in fright, backing away, only to stop when Kuroko turned to look at him. He paled, mind blank, unable to move an inch. If he knew there was a possibility of him getting possessed by going to the street court, he would've just stayed home.

Kuroko cocked his head to the side, "Where?" Looking around, he pointed to himself in question. "Me?"

At his neighbor's shaky nod, he frowned. "I'm not a ghost." He walked towards the other kid that looked to be his age who was frozen in spot, raising a hand to grasp the other's shoulder. "I'm human."

When he felt the warm hand on his shoulder, Ogiwara visibly relaxed, letting out a relieved sigh. "For a second there, I thought I was going to be possessed." With a grin, he introduced himself, "I'm Ogiwara Shigehiro!"

"Kuroko Tetsuya." Kuroko replied, unbothered that just moments ago he was once again thought of as part of the paranormal.

There was a pause, before Ogiwara scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, "Sorry about that by the way, didn't see you there." After receiving a nod of understanding from the smaller male, he looked around before focusing on the round object on the ground. "So.. basketball?"

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuya has a weak presence. That's a fact.

For as long as he can remember, he was unnoticeable. Apparently, it was in his genes. Having inherited his characteristics from his father, he got his mother's looks and lack of presence. He was often told that with longer hair, he would look exactly like his mother, their personalities the only thing differentiating them.

But his invisibility was useful, instead of being ashamed or getting annoyed of this attribute of his, he used it to his advantage—the idea having first sprouted from a comment his first and only friend offhandedly said.

" _You know, Kuroko, with that ghost-like ability of yours, you could probably do some crazy stuff on court during a game! Your opponents wouldn't be able to see you coming." Ogiwara snickered, before he added with a thoughtful frown, "If only you get the hang of shooting, or the usual things players do. But you're not the type of person to do normal stuff, I mean, you're like.. a ninja!"_

With his lack of presence, and his apparent knack for doing things in unusual ways, he managed to come up with mixing in his invisibility with something basketball players could do, something they always did but took for granted, something no player thought of much to take it up a notch.

Passing.

Coupled up with the most important factor in his specialty of simple magic tricks, misdirection.

Perhaps his weak presence wasn't as bad as he first thought.

* * *

His friend moved away, leaving him alone once more.

Frowning as he held a basketball in hand, he stared up at the worn-out basketball hoop of the mostly empty street court, him being the only person occupying the usually fully occupied space. He didn't even get to tell Ogiwara his ideas, on what he planned to specialize in. How was he supposed to train and learn the skill he wanted, if he had no one to train with or to practice the skill on?

As he sat against the wall by the street court's entrance, he heard boisterous laughter and noisy chatter nearing the court, probably the same kids that were always there. And sure enough, his assumptions proved to be correct as the older kids rushed in with a ball in hand, quickly occupying the street court. This time though, he absentmindedly took note, there was one new kid. Stopping by the entrance, sour-faced, with bushy eyebrows that were, oddly enough, shaped like tadpoles.

"C'mon, Hanamiya!" One of the kids called the new addition, causing said person to scowl. Instead of going to them, he walked over to where Kuroko sat, making eye contact with the usually unnoticed male, startling him.

'He can see me?' Before he could open his mouth, the kid, dubbed as 'Hanamiya', broke eye-contact but continued making his way towards him and sat beside him, a small distance separating them from each other. Kuroko noticed he was clutching a book, "The Alchemist" it read, a book he has read before and enjoyed immensely.

The older male probably noticed him staring, turning to him with an eyebrow raised in question, eyes glinting with annoyance.

Kuroko blinked. "That's a very good book." He stated, before turning back to the game that was currently ongoing. It looks like they didn't really need the other male, seeing as they had enough players to form two teams with an equal number of five persons per side.

It seemed to have caught the older male off-guard, probably not expecting Kuroko to comment, much less say anything. He simply huffed, returning to his reading. "So far, it's proving to be."

His voice was gruff, quiet, but not quite quiet enough. One of the kids stopped and pointed at Hanamiya, "Who's he talking to?" He questioned his team mates, who shrugged as they looked at him. Hanamiya was, after all, known to be an eccentric kid.

"Oi, Hanamiya!" One of the players from the opposing team called out, catching said male's attention. Hanamiya frowned at having to break his concentration form the book— _again_ —to address the kid. "What?"

"Who're you talking to?"

Hanamiya scoffed, "Are you blind?" He then pointed to the younger male beside him, causing Kuroko to raise a hand and wave.

Of course, he received the usual response to him 'suddenly materializing out of thin air', screams of _"Ghost!"_ and, well, a second later, only he was left on the court, along with the snickering Hanamiya, who returned to reading his book.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya." The younger of the two suddenly said, turning the ball he had in his hands, his attention on the basketball that was left rolling on the ground.

It was silent for a few moments, "Hanamiya Makoto." The other male muttered, still focused on his little book.

Kuroko didn't really expect meeting someone so soon, especially since the only kid he ever befriended just recently left, but he wasn't complaining.

Even when Hanamiya proved to be quite the troublemaker on a later time.

* * *

This is merely a.. demo of some sort. Not really the entire thing, but I wanted to post it. Will probably add more soon.


End file.
